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Last update - 12:22 01/10/2007
PA to call for int'l body to oversee deals with Israel
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent

The Palestinian Authority will publicly call for the involvement of an international body to oversee the implementation of agreements with Israel on economic and political reforms in the PA, according to a senior Palestinian source.

The PA is expected to ask for such involvement during the peace summit scheduled to take place in the United States in November.

According to the same source, who is involved in the negotiations with Israel and asked for anonymity, Israel is expected to accept the participation of a "third party" in the region.

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Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Army Radio on Monday that Israel does not oppose Syrian participation in the peace summit.

"The coming weeks, during which [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas will conduct a dialogue, will dictate the nature of the conference. It is a mistake to agree on a list of things ahead of time," Livni said in an interview.

The foreign minister added that the diplomatic meetings and the upcoming summit will not bring an immediate solution to the situation in Gaza. "We will not close our eyes to what is happening in Gaza only because there is dialogue on the other side," she said. "There is an enormous difference between the Hamas, who has taken over Gaza, and the Palestinian government that we are conducting dialogue with. The world understands that the dialogue with Abu Mazen [Abbas] cannot resolve the situation in Gaza."

Meanwhile, Olmert and Abbas were scheduled to meet Wednesday, along with their negotiating teams, who will begin drafting a document of principles to be presented at the international summit.

The senior Palestinian figure says the international body would be able to determine how agreements between the sides are to be implemented, hinting that what will be involved are a force of observers, able to separate the two sides and decide controversial issues.

The senior official said the PA would agree to a formula in which the international body would function in a similar fashion to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The makeup of the international body and its authority will be determined during the summit, but an agreement may be reached even sooner, according to the senior Palestinian source.

The same source pointed out that Israel had already agreed to a role for such an international body during negotiations with the PA in 2000 and 2001.

In recent years the Palestinian Authority had asked on a number of occasions for the involvement of a third party.

The senior Palestinian official made it clear that from the point of view of the PA, the involvement of the U.S. alone will not be enough.

He said the new body will not only be involved in matters pertaining to negotiations, but will include representatives from other countries, like Japan, the Arab League and the European Union.

By the time of the international summit, the official said Israel and the PA need to agree on a document of principles and on the practical steps that will be undertaken on the ground - such as the removal of roadblocks in the West Bank, the release of Palestinian prisoners and broadening security cooperation.

"At the summit itself the start of negotiations for a final settlement must be declared," he said, adding that it is possible to conclude this negotiations in a few months - before the Bush administration ends.

However, the source was careful to point out that there is still no agreement on a "third party," but was optimistic enough to note that "so far we have agreed to nothing. The talks between the two leaders have not included any documents. Now the negotiating teams will begin working on a document of understanding between Olmert and Abbas."

Hinting at the urgent desire of the PA to push forward toward a final settlement, Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly late last week that "the time has come for the international community to use this opportunity ... to restart the peace process."

Abbas said Sunday in Cairo that more than 36 countries are expected to participate in the summit in the U.S., which he said "makes it necessary for us to arrive there with a clear document that will 'pave the way' for future talks on the details of a final settlement."

However, Palestinian sources said it is doubtful whether Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia will attend the summit.

Related articles
Israel set to release 87 Palestinian prisoners by Monday afternoon
PM Olmert's meeting with Abbas delayed until Wednesday
UN human rights chief: We failed in handling Israel-PA conflict

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  1.   Twisting Israel`s Arm 03:25  |  Henry 01/10/07
  2.   third party... 03:40  |  Shmuelshachor 01/10/07
  3.   Good idea 03:48  |  Sensible 01/10/07
  4.   QUESTION?? WHAT IS A FOLLOW UP MECHANISM??? 03:56  |  John 01/10/07
  5.   This conference ain`t going anywhere without the key player! 04:06  |  lakshmi 01/10/07
  6.   Shmuelshachor # 2 04:18  |  Philippe 01/10/07
  7.   36 countries invited, but Hamas/Gaza not part of conversation 04:20  |  Kevin 01/10/07
  8.   #7 Kevin - Hamas doesn`t want to be invited 05:17  |  * BEN JABO 01/10/07
  9.   it used to be... 05:34  |  bashar 01/10/07
  10.   Peace Conference. 05:36  |  sandra chitayat 01/10/07
  11.   8/Ben Hamas offers ceasefires, IDF offers missile attacks 06:23  |  Kevin 01/10/07
  12.   10/Sandra - what planet are you on? Ziostan? 06:27  |  Kevin 01/10/07
  13.   3rd party... 06:33  |  jake 01/10/07
  14.   Arab League My Ass 06:41  |  Fish 01/10/07
  15.   SURE 06:42  |  CAL 01/10/07
  16.   ANOTHER WISHFUL THINKING 06:55  |  indrajaya 01/10/07
  17.   Abbas and The Terrorists will NEVER accept a TRULY VIABLE Israel 06:59  |  Pavel 01/10/07
  18.   Third party is the best way to deal with settler problem 07:15  |  Ivar 01/10/07
  19.   Abbas ... Forget it 07:20  |  Natallie Durson 01/10/07
  20.   #5 Lakshmi - A Just Peace 07:34  |  Alan 01/10/07
  21.   Will there be also an international body which oversees the PA`s 07:50  |  Martha Hoelzermann 01/10/07
  22.   Third party 07:51  |  Esther 01/10/07
  23.   Re *BEN JABO #8 07:57  |  Esther 01/10/07
  24.   Jake and Kevin live in the planet of Hamastan 07:57  |  Hastaroth 01/10/07
  25.   Kevin you whiner 07:57  |  Hannah 01/10/07
  26.   The purpose of the summit is to FAIL 08:01  |  keith 01/10/07
  27.   17/Pavel - I agree, terrorists will never accept peace 08:07  |  Kevin 01/10/07
  28.   For Sensible #3 08:13  |  Esther 01/10/07
  29.   This will NEVER be accepted by Israel 08:37  |  Clickfool 01/10/07
  30.   #7 09:29  |  bill 01/10/07
  31.   They don`t trust their own leaders 09:56  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 01/10/07
  32.   Paranoid Keith 09:58  |  Jasmine Murphy 01/10/07
  33.   For Clickfool #29 10:01  |  Esther 01/10/07
  34.   Clickfool what did you say about `manners`? 10:03  |  Jasmine Murphy 01/10/07
  35.   What a Joke 10:04  |  Marc Hamil 01/10/07
  36.   Re Natallie #19 10:29  |  Esther 01/10/07
  37.   #27 Kevin: No, there WAS Arab terrorism long before late 60`s.... 10:32  |  Pavel 01/10/07
  38.   Kevin- with all due respect 10:45  |  Elihu 01/10/07
  39.   Pavel - so what? 11:21  |  Mr. T 01/10/07
  40.   Even BBC noticed: UNIFIL checkpoints in Lebanon don`t check any 11:25  |  Absolute Sweden 01/10/07
  41.   TRANSFER ALL ARABS OUT......... 12:13  |  ENGLISHMAN 01/10/07
  42.   36 countries invited KEVIN 12:15  |  Petra 01/10/07
  43.   #39 mr t - you can`t just brush off reality with mindless retorts 12:28  |  CK Tan 01/10/07
  44.   39, Israel accepted Pal. State in `48, Arabs rejected it... 12:34  |  Pavel 01/10/07
  45.   PA incapable of governing or handling anything independantly 13:44  |  Avi 01/10/07
  46.   LAKSHMI AND KEY PLAYERS 13:59  |  Brant 01/10/07
  47.   #44 Isralei arabs 15:01  |  John Allen 01/10/07
  48.   John Allen 15:14  |  Israeli 01/10/07
  49.   John Allen 15:14  |  Israeli 01/10/07
  50.   For Pavel # 44 15:17  |  Clickfool 01/10/07
  51.   One one condition...!! 15:21  |  Evan 01/10/07
  52.   Alright already! 15:21  |  John Allen 01/10/07
  53.   To Natallie Durson 15:25  |  Evan 01/10/07
  54.   Call for int`l body to oversee deals with Istael 15:31  |  Bob Wallace 01/10/07
  55.   # 7 Kevin 15:38  |  Lynn 01/10/07
  56.   "Will dictate the nature of the conference" 15:54  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  57.   Livnis hypocricy 16:17  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  58.   Want a third party? 16:27  |  Chick 01/10/07
  59.   Britain tried this approach but failed 16:36  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  60.   #11 Kevin - Hamas ceasefires 16:43  |  * BEN JABO 01/10/07
  61.   #23 Esther - Of course they can`t admit it 16:46  |  * BEN JABO 01/10/07
  62.   #38 Elihu Talks about fairness 16:49  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  63.   #29 ClickFool - biggest mistake Israel could make 16:50  |  Rick 01/10/07
  64.   Labhras continues ducking 17:10  |  peter 01/10/07
  65.   #38 Elihu- Thanks for calm, rational post, though wrong 17:12  |  Rick 01/10/07
  66.   #38 Elihu- with respect, follow-up comment 17:26  |  Rick 01/10/07
  67.   That Irish pup still spouting the gaza line? 17:29  |  yo` mama 01/10/07
  68.   I NOMINATE CLICKFOOL......... 17:33  |  Brant 01/10/07
  69.   Rick 17:34  |  Jasmine Murphy 01/10/07
  70.   ISRAEL CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO KEEP ITS WORD... 17:36  |  Prima 01/10/07
  71.   #64 Brer Wabbit on the loose again 18:09  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  72.   PA to call for int`l body to oversee deals with Israel 18:18  |  MichaelF 01/10/07
  73.   #50 clickfool tries DECEPTION with historical BULLSHIT (3rd try) 18:26  |  CK Tan 01/10/07
  74.   To Kevin #12 18:57  |  Jackie 01/10/07
  75.   No terrorism from Arabs until 1960s 19:03  |  Jackie 01/10/07
  76.   #74 Jackie in Florida re Kevin #12 19:37  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  77.   #75 Jackie in Florida 19:44  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  78.   #75 Jackie in Florida 19:46  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  79.   Chinese 17:56  |  Paul